Let's Not Be Alone Tonight
by girlwithacinderblockgarden
Summary: In which Austin is a bartender and Ally is the most interesting thing that's sat at his bar all night.
1. Chapter 1

**More College!AU…**

 **In which Austin is a bartender and Ally is the most interesting thing that's sat at his bar all night.**

She was slightly unsteady on her feet. That might have (probably was) been from the three drinks she'd already had. She was a lightweight, and it was highly disappointing. She was supposed to be having a fun night out, and instead, she was practically babysitting Trish. Damn her Latina blood that made her drink like a fish. Trish was like a machine tonight, taking shots and pounding through cans of what smelled like roadkill to Ally. Ally herself had taken a shot, and then retreated back to her familiar hard ciders.

Her feet were killing her. Trish had convinced her to wear heels on far too humid of a night, and while she felt good about herself for the first 30 minutes, they had started to rub what felt like magnificent blisters. She was miserable and this close to getting Trish's boyfriend to carry her down the street, but she had some sense of self-preservation left. Which was the only reason she was currently letting them drag her into another seedy-looking bar.

She thanked her lucky stars that this bar wasn't too crowded. It may have been decorated with odd Catholic paraphernalia and blaring 80s music, but it was at least dark and had plenty of open seats. Trish had been pulled away by some equally drunk girl and was currently squealing something fierce. That wasn't doing any good, and Ally sighed as she dropped onto a stool at the bar. It was so nice to finally sit down.

"Can I get you something?" a voice asked her, and she looked up to see the single most attractive bartender she'd seen all night. Blonde hair, a tight button up shirt, and jeans that were working for him. She wasn't sure if it was the alcohol or just hormones, but she was fairly certain that she had never been so attracted to someone at first sight.

"Uh… I don't do this, ever. I've never been downtown," she said, gesturing around her. He was looking at her with an odd expression, and she realized that she hadn't answered his question. "I don't know what I want?"

He smirked, and leaned forward. "What do you like, usually?"  
"Not beer. Ugh."

Laughing, he pulled out a glass. "Alright, something fruity, then?"

She nodded, and he started pouring liquids into the glass, finally presenting her with something blue and garnished with an orange slice. She took a sip, testing the taste before deciding it wasn't horribly offensive.

"You like it?" he questioned, and she grinned.

"You have really great hair." _Not an answer, Ally_ , she scolded herself mentally. _And nice job on making yourself seem like an idiot in front of the cute bartender._

Trish's boyfriend slipped onto the stool beside her, and stuck his hand out towards the blonde, slapping them together in some kind of complicated shake. Ally gave him the side eye, unsure of whether or not she liked what was going on.

"So, you're taking care of Ally here, huh, Austin?" Dez asked, clapping a hand on her shoulder. So his name was Austin…

"Trying to, at least," he quipped back, ducking into what Ally assumed was the cooler.

"You know each other?" she asked, taking another sip of her drink.

"Yeah," Dez replied. "We used to be roommates freshman year. That's the whole reason I found this bar in the first place. He found it one night, and dragged me along. It's where I met Trish."

Huh. So the place was crawling with romance.

"Where is Trish, by the way?" Ally asked, looking around for the mass of curls that usually signaled her friend's presence. She could not lose Trish in a strange new bar, no matter how cute the person behind the bar was.

* * *

He took a deep breath in the cooler, mind reeling as he went back over the past few minutes. The prettiest girl he had seen in a long time had walked into his bar and sat down, complimented his hair, and then was revealed to be friends with his former roommate. And her name was Ally.

He saw a lot of people every night, but none that had the same air about them as she did. She was quiet and seemed to project innocence. Certainly, she didn't belong out in a bar. She admitted that openly, and he found it oddly endearing.

Coming back out with beers in hand, he watched her as he restocked the bar. She was still working on that drink, talking to Dez, and looking mildly sleepy. Still, she was gorgeous; dark curls tumbling over her shoulder and her eyes wide. He reached under the bar and pulled out a glass, setting it in front of her. She turned to him, confused, until he pulled out the bar's secret menu item. That look in her eyes of delight, comfort, and sincere thankfulness was the most adorable thing he had ever seen.

"Are you serious right now?!" she exclaimed as he poured her a glass full of Goldfish. She threw a few in her mouth appreciatively.

"Dead serious. It's a house secret, but we're known for our Goldfish as a snack."

She was even prettier when she was smiling. Geez. She could have the whole carton of Goldfish if she'd keep smiling at him like that.

He stared at her for a few seconds longer before having to attend to another customer. He kept an eye on her as he poured drinks and passed over beers. She was something else.

Thank god his shift was ending soon, because he couldn't stand not being able to get to know her more.

* * *

Blue wasn't usually her flavor of choice, but it wasn't so bad tonight. And it paired pretty well with the Goldfish.

Talking with a drunk Trish wasn't exactly the most exciting thing she had ever done, but she was admittedly distracted. Once she had managed to find Trish again, pulling her away from a crowd of girls who were too loud for 11:30pm, she was trying to use her as a human shield against the cute blonde bartender. Granted, this meant sacrificing a lot of her Goldfish to the girl, but it was something she was willing to work with in order to not look like an actual goldfish with her mouth hanging open and staring.

It was working, too, she thought, until Trish called her on it.

"I take you out at the end of the semester, and what do you manage to do, Ally? You manage to find a man."

She thumped her head on the bar, groaning. "Is it that obvious, Trish?"

"Ally. It would be less obvious to get a sign that says 'Austin the Bartender Fan Club' and hold it than the staring you're doing right now."

She blushed as Dez nodded from beside her. All she could do was finish her drink and pop the remaining Goldfish into her mouth.

"You off, man?" Dez asked, looking behind her.

Her stomach dropped, her face flushed, and her eyes widened as she turned around to come face to chest with a certain tight button up.

"Yep," he said as she continued to stare at his chest.

She was clearly continuing to make a fantastic impression on the cute bartender. Actual goldfish, Ally Dawson.

He sat down and signaled to his coworker to bring him a drink. Ally slid back onto her stool, slightly unsure of what to do with him beside her. But Trish was giving her a Look and Dez was smirking, so she turned to him and asked the first question that popped into her head.

"So, do you go to school here?"

* * *

"And so that's how I ended up covered in cake two minutes before I started my presentation," she laughed.

It was almost 2 in the morning, and his coworkers were announcing last call. He shook his head, and slowly started to take in his surroundings again, rather than getting lost in the girl in front of him. It had been easy to do. She was pretty, and funny, and smart, and incredibly easy to talk to.

"Last call?"

She looked around, and shook her head.

"No thanks. Apparently, I've lost my friends, so I'm going to need to be able to drive myself home."

He hoped that it was his fault that they had left. Checking his phone, he found a text from Dez confirming it.

"Can I walk you to your car?"

She nodded, and bent down to slip off her heels.

"Sorry if this is weird to you, but my feet are killing me, and if I'm walking, I'm not wearing these things anymore."

Laughing, he bent down slightly, hands braced on his knees. She gave him a look of confusion before he explained.

"Do you really think I'm going to let you walk around barefoot downtown? Don't be crazy. Hop on."

She barely weighed a thing, and he gave himself a mental high five for coming up with a way to hold her, even if it wasn't conventional. She directed him from her perch on his back toward her car, and when they finally reached the tiny Nissan, he deposited her on the trunk.

"You know, you are an extraordinarily tiny person."  
"So I've been told."

"Have I told you that I'm glad you were in my bar tonight?"

Her blush gave her away. He grinned. Their connection wasn't all in his head, then.

"I guess I'm kind of glad Trish brought me in."

He stepped closer to her.

"You guess?"

He was dangerously close to making his move. Her eyes flicked down to his lips, and he took the chance.

Her hands made their way to his hair, and he thought for a moment it might be love. Ally was a damn good kisser, and he was giving her everything he had. They broke momentarily, breathing heavily, before she whispered the magic words to him.

" _Let's not be alone tonight."_


	2. Chapter 2

**For the first time in my writing career… There is a chapter 2.**

 **Follow me for some lovely griping about certain band members needing showers and haircuts. vctphoto**

 **Or, you know, tweet me if you want this to be a three-shot… Things might be looking up. ;)**

"Oh no," she thought as she woke up in unfamiliar surroundings. She had to have lost her damn mind. It was bad enough that she went out with Trish the night before, but that she ended up in someone's bed? She grabbed the first clothes she saw and bolted from the room, throwing them on as she walked outside to find the first bus station she saw.

She was a little too distracted by the situation to see the blonde rousing as she walked out the door.

Austin wasn't sure what was going on when he woke up, but he did know he had woken up smiling for the first time in memory. Actually, he wasn't entirely sure what had happened last night, save for the tiny brunette who had just ran from his bed.

There were some definite blanks in his memory; namely, how he had ended up with a girl in his bed. But what he could remember was good. What he could remember revolved around warmth and comfort, and feeling things he hadn't in the longest time. And currently, he couldn't even remember her name.

This was bad. Really bad. He didn't do one-night stands, and he didn't sleep with girls whose name he didn't know. He racked his brains for some way to fill in the blanks. Dez! Dez was there. He might be able to help.

He dialed his best friend's number, but was greeted by sleepy, and from the sound of it, very angry, Spanish. That tripped his mind as well. Was she friends with Trish?

"Listen, I'm sorry for waking you up, Trish, but…" He was cut off by something that sounded distinctly like a swear.

"You wouldn't be the first person this morning, blondie. Do you want to explain to me why Ally called me from bus stop this morning? I thought I left her in capable hands, but apparently, you can't be trusted with that kind of responsibility. Dios mio…"

Ally. Her name was Ally. And she was flooding his memory again. She was kind, smart, funny, and gorgeous. And apparently, she regretted last night.

She sunk low in her seat, sipping her coffee in shame. Trish and Dez had agreed to meet her at Waffle House for breakfast (which was a laughable concept, considering it was 2:30 in the afternoon). She had no idea where she had left her car, and the clothes she was wearing weren't even hers. She was a walking cliché of shame. And she was pretty sure she had just made the biggest mistake ever. She had gone home with a boy she had just met, and she was going to blame it all on demon tequila and his stupid eyes. Ally Dawson did not do one-night stands, and she certainly didn't do sneaking out. But apparently, this bartender had broken all her rules.

She looked up to find a mop of dark curls and a shock of red hair peering at her like concerned parents. Her head dropped into her hands.

"Tell me I didn't actually do this, Trish. Please."

"Sorry, sweetie. You did. And you ran out the morning after, too, which meant I got a very unpleasant phone call from Austin."

Ally was fairly certain she resembled a tomato at this point.

"I didn't really think it was protocol to stick around."

This earned her a very judgmental look from Dez.

"You can stop right there, missy," he lectured, giving her a look that made her hold her coffee closer for some semblance of protection. "You went home with my best friend, and the Love Whisperer is here for some tough love. You don't know the first thing about the kind of person he is, and you certainly didn't consider that running out was going to mess with him. So you're going to sit right here and quit feeling sorry for yourself, because in about 2 minutes, you're going to have to buck up and talk to him. Austin is on his way here right now. I knew I should have given you the speech about him, but I trusted you. Apparently, you deserved that speech, and you are on probation. You don't hurt him. Ever again."

The last part of his tirade was lost on her as the boy she had left in bed this morning walked in and realized where his clothes from last night had gone.

"Friendly Waffle House date, my ass," he muttered, seeing Ally sitting in the booth with his best friend. Dez tended to overreact as The Love Whisperer, but this was taking it too far. Still. The coffee was good, and he was developing a sudden and intense craving for hash browns.

He slipped in next to her and nodded briefly before giving Dez a Look. A "You should explain yourself right now if you want to keep certain parts of yourself intact, bro" look.

"Nice of you to join us, Austin," Dez said cheerfully. "You remember Ally?"

He caught her eye and stuck out a hand. "Austin Moon."

"Ally Dawson."

He took a deep breath and swore heavily in his head. She was gorgeous with no makeup and wearing his shirt. And knowing that he had a lot to do with the dark mark peeking out from the collar. This was shaping up to be the most awkward breakfast he had ever had. And that included the time he had woken up on a washing machine.

"So, Austin, how was your latest performance?" Dez asked.

"Pretty good. I'm still missing something from the set. I'm trying to finish this song, but it just won't come to me."

Ally looked at him, confused.

"I'm a music major, with a concentration in performance. Unfortunately, I've hit a bit of a writer's block when it comes to composition, and that's really inconvenient."

"Maybe I could help you."

Austin's jaw dropped. She was offering to help him with something after bolting out of his room this morning?

A blush flooded her cheeks quickly. "I don't have to if you don't want to. I think I told you last night that I'm a music education major, but I like writing in my spare time. I've got a couple of ideas, and it could be useful to bounce them off someone."

"That depends. Do you run out after making music, too?"

"Not if I think it's worth it to stay."

That was a blow. Well executed, but still a blow.

He looked her up and down, catching on her eyes. They were taking him back in, and he remembered the same thing happening last night. Those eyes were the reason he had ended up in this situation. He was sure of it.

"Well, I'll have to make sure it's worth your while, then."  
"I guess you will."

Her phone buzzed with a text.

 _I don't do one night stands, just so you know._

 _ **I don't, either.**_

 _If you were serious about helping me with my music, I'd really like that._

 _ **I think I was.**_

 _I've got a practice room reserved on campus tonight. Meet me at 8?_

 _ **Bring coffee and ideas. I think we could work something out.**_

 _I'll see you then, Ally. And just for the record, I don't regret last night. Just the way it was handled._

 _ **I messed up, too. It's not entirely on you. Besides, there might be a song in this somewhere.**_

 _There just might be. :-) see you at 8?_

 _ **Like I said, bring the coffee and I'll be there.**_

Things were looking up, she supposed.


	3. Chapter 3

**I've been surprised by the amount of feedback I've gotten for this! Thanks for being along for the ride with me.** **I'm going to offer a hint now and tell you to go listen to Desperate Measures by Marianas Trench. If you're not jamming to them now, you should be! Old favorites make for GREAT inspiration sometimes.**

He met her as promised at 8pm, bearing coffee and a sheepish smile. She was impressed that he had kept his promise, and accepted the coffee he held out for her. They entered the practice room together, finding a piano set up in the middle of the room, blank sheet paper lining the top.

Ally was entranced by the blank paper. Something about the bars without notes had always called to her, begging her to fill them up with creations and ideas. And the smell of them… She inhaled deeply, forgetting for a moment that Austin was with her and probably thought she was insane.

Her fingers ran over the pages briefly before turning around to face the boy she had spent the previous night with.

"So, this is different from last night."

He remained silent for a moment, tilting his head slightly before answering.

"Not really. I still brought you a drink, we're alone, and we're about to make music."

She snorted in disgust. Or maybe defeat. She wasn't sure at this point.

"Making music, huh? Is that what the kids are calling it these days?"

"You know, for a first effort, this feels kind of last ditch, Ally."

It was like lightning struck for her. She grabbed for a piece of paper and pen, plopping down on the floor as she started to scribble words.

* * *

He would admit that the floor was unconventional, but he wasn't going to do anything to tip the balance with Ally any more than he already had. He was lucky he had the night off from the bar so that he could try to make it up to her. Though he wouldn't object to a repeat of the previous night, he was in no position to do anything but apologize.

Ally got off the floor and made her way over to the piano, banging out a few chords before finding something she seemed to like.

"For a first effort this feels kind of last ditch. I guess this just got kind of drastic. Trust us, you just fell off the bus baby… I can't let this, can't let this go," she sang softly.

Austin was impressed. His words sounded right in her voice, and she had managed to put a basic melody down that seemed easy enough to follow. He tried her verse out in his own voice, belting it towards the ceiling and listening to it bounce back. Cautiously, he sat down next to her at the piano and worked on her melody. He looked at the girl next to him and sighed as she looked down at the keys. Her lip caught between her teeth, and he grabbed the paper back from her, scribbling something down himself. He played with a few variations on his word choice before hesitantly playing out his idea.

"I got you right where I want you. I've been pushing for this for so long. Kiss me, just once, for luck; these are desperate measures, now…"

Ally fell in with the tail end of her verse, extrapolating on the end.

"Hey, this is sounding pretty good," Austin trailed off. He looked at her, hoping she would agree. She had brought something new to the table for him. Something he hadn't experienced in a long time. He felt inspired working with her. Maybe that had to do with the feeling of brushing her hand on the piano keys, or maybe she was just that good. He wasn't entirely sure, but he knew that Ally Dawson was a force to be reckoned with. He could just hope that he would be the one doing that reckoning.

* * *

Her blood was boiling, her hair was falling in her eyes from her sloppy ponytail, her hands were on her hips, and she was face to chest with the blonde singer who was currently yelling at her about a lyric choice.

She had to admit, he had come up with something good. But she was absolutely not going to put her name on a song that contained the phrase "swallow on your knees." And she wasn't backing down from this argument.

He was shoving a hand roughly through his hair and staring her down while he defended his choice of words. But she would be damned if she wrote a song that suggestive.

"Ally, I'm the one performing it, so I should get a say in what I sing!"

"Doesn't matter! I have a reputation to uphold, and you are NOT going to be the one to ruin it!"

"Oh, yes, I am."

"You're not."

"I am."

And with that, she made a beeline toward the door.

Or, at least she tried before she was yanked back and kissed. Thoroughly.

Oh. So this was why she went home with him. His hands were making a compelling argument for her to make the same mistake again tonight.

Thank god for soundproofed practice rooms, she thought as they tumbled to the floor to continue to bang out ideas.

* * *

He won that argument, he remembered smugly as he thought back to the night they wrote his song. He adjusted his mic pack in his pocket as he watched from the side of the student showcase stage.

He was going to be debuting "Desperate Measures" tonight, and he was the complete opposite of calm. Performing was his high, but he had never faced stakes like the ones he was tonight. Ally was going to be there to see him sing their song, and he wanted her to be proud. Their partnership was still in effect, but he wanted to prove that they could be something great. Not that he was using their songwriting as leverage to be something else. Of course not.

He totally was.

Sleeping with Ally again was just as good as the first time. Excluding the part where she said it was never happening again and that they should focus on being musical partners. That was all good and well until they started kissing on the piano bench again, and he got carried away. To which she said they were friends and partners. But not dating.

She had kissed him again after that, so he was pretty sure he could change that. Besides, they worked so well together. The perfect match.

So he had a plan.

The tech gave him his cue, and he ran onstage to the cheers of his entire department.

"Hey everybody! I'm Austin Moon. And this song is for Ally."

He walked to center stage and took a pose as the music built slowly.

"Gonna make a heart-throb out of me

Just a bit of minor surgery

These desperate times call for desperate measures

I'll give you something to cry about

Show some skin, and would be, caché

How could you let this get to desperate measures now?"

He sang better than he had in ages. It might have been adrenaline, and it might have been the fact that he was singing to her directly. She was in the third row with Dez and Trish, and she was blushing furiously as he winked at her. But that was nothing compared to the look in her eyes when he locked in on her and sang the bridge that sounded like a plea.

"Forever, for worse or better

My poor heart will only surrender

Go forever, for worse or better

My poor heart will only surrender, now"

The crowd went wild as the song ended, but his eyes watched her. She looked at him and mouthed the one word that changed it all for him.

"Okay."

And that was it. He ran off the stage and into the audience, hopping seats to make his way to her.

"Just once, for luck?" he asked her quietly, slipping an arm around her waist.

"Well, these are desperate measures," she replied, reaching up on her tiptoes to press her lips to his.

She didn't notice his triumphant fist pump as she kissed him in front of the crowd. She also didn't notice Dez and Trish holding each other and weeping happy tears for the two idiots they called friends. However, he figured she did notice him taking her hand and leading her out of the room, taking her away to make some more music. Since that's what the kids were calling it these days.


End file.
